Career Clinic Week 2

Thursday, 29 October 2009

We continue our quest to get three unemployed people back into the workforce. Today we meet Eimear Farrell, 31, from Cabinteely and find out how she got on with the challenge we set her. She will be joined by James Mailley, Commercial Director of Monster Ireland who will be telling us how to set ourselves a practical and achievable job schedule.

The live register in September of this year stood at 429,400 people, an increase of 183,422 people or 76.4% in just one year according to the Central Statistic Office's figures. The standardised unemployment rate in September was 12.6%.

( Sourced from www.inou.ie) On September 22nd, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) for Quarter 2 2009, which covers the period March to June. The QNHS Q2 '09 recorded a drop in employment levels by 8.2% in comparison to Q2 2008. With just a little over 1.9m in employment, employment has dropped back to Q1 2005 levels. However at that stage unemployment was only 4.2% and it is now 12%. Long-term unemployment has started to rise and now stands at 2.6% - a figure not seen since early 1999. Over the last year, 174,300 jobs were lost against 23,800 created. Out of the six categories where jobs were created, three are funded through the public purse and so future employment growth is doubtful.

Eimear Farrell, 31, from CabinteelyEducational background : Studied arts in Trinity, did a masters in European Studies in UCD, speaks French and Spanish

Working background : Did a lot on EU policy and human rights in Brussels followed by work with Irish Human Rights Commission which ended in Dec 2008. Did a tiny bit of work on the Lisbon Treaty

Other information: Looking for a COMPLETE career direction change, trying to move into PR or marketing. In her spare time, she enjoys keeping fit and is currently training for a triathlon.

James Mailley is the Managing Director of Monster Ireland. Based in Dublin, he is responsible for driving business growth in Ireland and ensuring that Monster.ie remains the industry's leading provider of online recruitment services and solutions. James is also responsible for sales strategy and implementation. James joined Monster.ie in 2003. Prior to this, he worked as a management consultant at TMP Worldwide and a recruitment consultant at Michael Page. James has a degree from Manchester Metropolitan University.

Career Clinic breakdown:

Week 1Last week we met our three Career Clinic participants, Eimear Farrell who was looking to move into PR, Martin Malone our brick layer who was looking to change career direction and Annmarie Wolohan who was aiming to re-enter work as an office manager.

Week 2This week we re-visit Eimear and how she got on at her networking event, plus we find out some good news from her!

Week 3Next week (Friday the 6th) we'll find out how our unemployed bricklayer Martin Malone got on with our career direction expert John Fitzgerald as we try to find the best path for him to re-enter the workforce!

Questions for Eimear:

Eimear, we saw there that you took part in some speed networking, what was that?

It was like speed dating, each person would get 2 minutes to describe themselves and what they do. It was very enjoyable!

Did PR feel like something you would be interested in doing long-term?

Yes! I've actually been offered a job for six months in Geneva in international business which I'm really looking forward to, and I owe a lot to the Career Clinic which pushed me to go for interviews and really put myself out there, so I'm really looking forward to it now!

Eimear has just accepted a six month contract in Geneva, which she is absolutely delighted about. Also here in The Afternoon Show office, we got a call from someone who had watched the show offering Eimear a job, so she may even have leads after she comes back from Geneva!

Questions for James

James, you specialise in recruitment, are there really jobs out there for people?

There definitely are, you just have to know where to look and how to apply for them. In fact, we've organised an event called Keep Ireland Working. It's a Career Fair which will be on the 12th November 2009 in the RDS. This is a unique event where we will have over 40 major businesses in Ireland showcasing the vacancies they have right now, Companies already confirmed to attend include Hertz, Oracle, IBM and eBay. It's free for the companies and the people who attend. On the day, we will be hosting free seminars on a variety of career related topics as well as motivational speakers.

What advice would you give someone who is looking for a job?

1. Frame of Mind

Get yourself in the right frame of mind - this is especially important if you have been out of work for weeks/months. Ideal is to go for a walk to clear your head and form a plan for the day/period of time you have

2. Plan the day

Set yourself realistic targets for the day. Can be a simplistic as send your CV to two Job Opportunities or more ambitious targets such as talk to three HR Directors

3. Find The Job Opportunities

- Get online. If you don't have home access, your local library can assist and/or tell you where you can arrange access- Set up "Search Agents" on the online career sites. Recommend two broad-based sites (such as Monster.ie and Irishjobs.ie) and two niche sites (such as salesjobs.ie). Search agents e-mail you directly when your predetermined criteria are triggered- Get the local and National newspapers and check the job pages- Look at the business news in the papers and online. The most successful seekers will target companies making positive news and approach directly. Even though there may be no advertised vacancies, these approaches can often create positive contacts later on- If you have not done so already, register with at least three recruitment consultancies. Ask friends/peers which ones they recommend

4. Apply for the Jobs

- Where you know the company you are applying for, look at their website and pick out key words and phrases they use. For example, a smaller, more innovative company will tend to look for people who have a flexible skills-base and are used to working in small-company environments. So tailor your CV and covering letter accordingly. One of the most common mistakes is to have a one-size-fits-all CV.

5. Follow up on previous applications

- Call up companies and agencies you have submitted an application for previously. Ask them if they reviewed your details and ask for feedback. This kind of proactivity will be noticed - especially by direct employers. Make careful note of the feedback

6. Be aware of your profile on social networking sites

If you use social networking sites, make sure you are using these to stay positive and optimistic. Although still rare, there is anecdotal evidence that some recruiters look at the public profile of applicants to see what their non-working profile is like